Nanoporous silver as electrochemical actuator

We report on reversible dimensional changes in nanoporous silver made by selective dissolution of Al from Ag–Al alloys. Strain amplitudes of between ∼0.2 and 0.5% were recorded during cyclic voltammetry experiments in 0.5 M NaOH. These reversible displacements are comparable to, if not higher than, those reported in the noblest nanoporous metals such as Pt and Au under similar experimental conditions. Our new findings indicate that Ag could be a good candidate material for low-cost electrochemical actuation applications.